LAKE WALES, Fla. – A quick-thinking customer and the paper trail from a scrap yard helped Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) detectives crack a Lake Wales business burglary case within hours, leading to the arrest of a local man.
The investigation began on the morning of October 14th when the PCSO received a report of a burglary. An unknown person had stolen an industrial range valued at $2,500 from a local business.
While investigating the scene, a detective spoke with a customer who provided a tip: he had seen a range matching the description on a trailer being towed by a white SUV near a property on Dogyard Road.
Following the lead, the detective’s work quickly revealed that the stolen range had been sold to a local scrap yard. The information provided by the scrap yard was the key to identifying the suspect as 41-year-old Charles Richard Harmon, II of Lake Wales. Scrap yard personnel also confirmed that Harmon drove a white Dodge Journey towing a trailer, matching the customer’s initial description.
Shortly after 10 p.m. that evening, deputies located and arrested Charles Harmon on Dogyard Road.
Harmon was taken to the Sheriff’s Processing Center and booked on multiple charges, including Burglary, Grand Theft, Dealing in Stolen Property, and False Information to a Pawnbroker.
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